Spectroscopic evaluation, thermal, and thermomechanical characterization of poly(glycerol-sebacate) with variations in curing temperatures and durations

Novel materials possessing physical, mechanical, and chemical properties similar to those found in vivo provide a potential platform in building artificial microenviron- ments for tissue engineering and therapeutic applications. Poly(glycerol-sebacate) (PGS) [1], a tough elastomer that is synthesized through the polycondensation of glycerol and sebacic acid, shows promise in the field of biomimetic materials. PGS is both biocompatible and biodegradable, with tunable mechanical properties within the range of common soft tissue. Studies have found that PGS is superior, in terms of mechanical properties, biodegradation characteristics, as well as cell response and morphology to poly(L-lactic–glycolic acid) (PLGA) [1, 2], a commonly used polymer in biointerface studies. Characterization studies on PGS have looked at its mechanical characteris- tics [3], thermal analysis via differential scanning calo- rimetry (DSC) [1, 4], molecular bonding schemes via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy [1, 4], in vitro as well as in vivo degradation characteristics [1, 2], biocompatibility [1, 5, 6], swelling behavior [2, 3], and shape-memory effect [4]. However, a controlled wide- range study of these properties as a function of curing parameters has yet to be reported, limiting the standardi- zation of property ‘‘tunability’’